Two cruise industry leading lines announced new bans on smoking outside on balconies. These announcements came within days of each other, first Carnival Cruise Line banned smoking on outside balconies, and then Norwegian Cruise Line has joined its competitors in banning smoking on private balconies on its ships.
The ban will begin on all sailings from November 1. In its casinos, passengers will only be allowed to smoke if they are actively playing.
Smokers will still be allowed to light up on the starboard side of The Waterfront areas on Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway, Norwegian said, except near outdoor dining areas. There is also a designated smoking lounge and cigar bar on ships.
Norwegian allows cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars and pipes to be smoked outdoors in certain areas and on open decks, depending on the layout of the ship. It defended its inclusion of e-cigarettes in the ban on the basis that they “look so realistic… other guests’ perception is that we are not enforcing the No Smoking rule.”
Last summer, Cunard, P&O and Disney all decided to ban smoking on balconies, although the bans for Cunard and P&O, along with a ban from Royal Caribbean, didn’t come into effect until this year.
Carnival Cruise Line more recently banned smoking on balconies for ships departing after October 9 this year, while permitting it in certain parts of the open deck.
A similar ban applying to balconies is already in place on ships run by Celebrity, Princess, Oceania and Crystal.
The issue of smoking on ships is a divisive one, however, with many smokers feeling that they should have the freedom to light up in private when on holiday, as they would on a hotel room balcony.
Others disagree. “There is nothing worse than being driven from your balcony – for which you have paid a premium – by the smell of cigarette smoke,” said Jane Archer, Telegraph Travel’s cruise critic. “Fires on cruise ships are feared more than anything else so there are also safety issues at play here.
“It is tough for smokers,” she added, “but most ships have a top-deck smoking area and there are still a few vessels where they can light up inside, for instance on Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa 2, which has a dedicated smokers’ room.”
The Holland America line is now the only major line to still allow smoking on balconies.
What do you think about smoking being allowed in certain areas of cruise ships?
